Make masks mandatory
Gov. Jared Polis should enact a strictly enforced order mandating that everyone must wear some type of face covering when in an enclosed public space. This needs to happen now, not after the next 1,000 new cases and numerous deaths.
Once this policy is enacted, we can look at the data and slowly, cautiously, move forward. Reopening business without doing this first will greatly increase the current infection rate. We are smarter than a virus. We must use our intelligence.
Ken Graham, Boulder
Stop the bickering
Re: “Open Forum,” April 16 letters to the editor
How does such a trivial thing become a major issue for people?
I understand that our state preferred a different person be president, but Donald Trump is now that person, and he is dealing with a challenge never seen before. Shouldn’t you give him some credit?
Where have people’s common sense, patriotism and just plain decency gone?
Our president has had to weed through inaccurate and fraudulent information (see Chinese government). His medical advisers have used flawed and inaccurate modeling to guide him.
And yet he was able to push Congress into passing immediate relief and assistance in a record pace, for any government at any level.
Yes, he appears exhausted and testy at his daily news briefings, yet he puts himself in front of this challenge every day to provide a calm voice to the people and provide hope for the future.
At this moment in time, we should be seeking ways to unite and support our president and his administration, as well as our local leaders. We should summon all our efforts and resources to find positive solutions.
Come on, Colorado. Letap stop the bickering and infighting over minor partisan political issues. Letap find ways to work together to get through this together!
Michael Collins, Englewood
Supply chain heroes
Many unsung heroes work round-the-clock to make sure the trucks have the fuel they need to carry the items we order from Amazon, Walmart and King Soopers. They are putting in extra effort to keep us well-stocked and the economy moving in the face of the COVID-19 challenge.
Buzz about the supply chain in the past few weeks has folks more aware about how now-precious items such as toilet paper and pasta make it to store shelves.
While long overdue praise has been given to hospital workers, first responders and store clerks who face daily risk of exposure, letap not forget the rest of the team.
More than 200,000 people work for the nation’s freight railroads moving on average 54 tons of goods for every American each year. This backbone industry hauls 138.7 million tons of goods across Colorado’s 2,427 miles of track every year.
Remember, coveted toilet paper starts out as wood pulp, and pasta as grain — both traveling by rail as raw materials. Tons of small packages make the first part of their transcontinental journey by rail, and UPS is one of the largest users of rail service in the United States.
The federal government appropriately deems the freight rail network “critical infrastructure.” Thousands of railroad employees, including more than 2,300 in Colorado, work 24/7 to keep the supply chain running in support of our communities. Kudos to all the supply chain heroes working to keep us well-stocked and at home.
Patrick Sherry, Denver
Editor’s note: Sherry is professor and director, National Center for Intermodal Transportation at the University of Denver.
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